Panis Angelicus and Jack the Ripper
Ate breakfast, after shower, with Bob and Carol. Had oatmeal, prunes, toast and grapefruit juice, tea with milk. Walked to American Express to get checks cashed and to internet cafe to check e-mail. Mine was very slow so I didn’t get to read them. I did send a message home. Then we walked to Somerset house and the Courtauld Gallery (silversmith family). It was wonderful! I bought the catalogue. Saw Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, Cezanne, Mondigliani, Botticelli, Rubens–WOW! Then ate fruit that Sharon bought as we walked to St. Martin in the Fields Church on Trafalgar Square. Heard the South End Girls Choir sing beautifully–several spirituals, also solos of Summertime, Panis Angelicus, and Pie Jesu. Really wonderful. Ate in the crypt at the church–red lentil soup and bread pudding with custard. Shopped at their book shop/brass rubbings gallery. Bought Ian a coaster. Took lots of pix in Trafalgar Square. Went to National Gallery for a little while but got lost trying to find my way out–it’s huge! Then we got a cab to the Tower of London. Didn’t have a whole lot of time there, but saw the ravens and the Crown Jewels. Took a picture of a Beefeater. Walked across the Tower Bridge and ate at River Bar–had a Greek salad and a beer. Then we found Donald Rumblelow, a friend of Sharon’s sister and brother-in-law, who is the world’s authority on Jack the Ripper (he wrote the definitive book). We went on a London walk with him through the neighborhoods where all the murders happened. I really didn’t know all the gruesome details. Sharon bought his book, and he signed it for her. He was really very nice. He would not let us pay for the tour. There were about 60 people on it. Then we took a cab back to the hotel and talked about tomorrow. Oh, I forgot that we stopped for ice cream at Haagen Daas–I got coffee flavored. It was delish!